episode-header-image

Mar 2023

25m 24s

Israeli democracy at a crossroads

Financial Times

About this episode

Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal tells Gideon why he believes Israel is on course for a full-blown constitutional crisis. The Netanyahu government’s plan to curtail the power of the judiciary, he says, will remove democratic checks and balances that are crucial for the survival of a liberal democracy. Opponents include business, the military and the country's intellectual elite, as well as many middle-class Israelis who will not accept the proposed changes.

Clips: Anadolu Agency; NBC

Protests by Israeli reservists raise stakes in battle over judicial changes

Illiberal democracy comes to Israel

US defence secretary cuts short trip to Israel ahead of mass protests

Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.

Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next

Coming soon from Tech Tonic: Defying death

<p>Investors are spending billions of dollars on novel ways to extend human life through inventive treatments, therapies, and even manipulating our genes. And increasingly, it seems as though anti-ageing efforts have moved from the super rich to a mass market consumer industry. I ... Show More

Europe’s triple shock: Putin, Trump and Xi

<p>The French pioneer of European integration Jean Monnet believed that Europe would be ‘built in crisis’. The war in Ukraine is putting this theory to the test, once again. Gideon discusses with historian Timothy Garton Ash how European leaders are responding to this latest cris ... Show More

The battle for AI supremacy

Gideon Rachman sits down with the FT's innovation editor John Thornhill and Caiwei Chen, China reporter for the MIT Technology Review, to discuss the race between China and the US to become the 21st-century AI superpower. The west is used to hearing about the might of the Silicon ... Show More

Recommended Episodes

Protests and the Future of Democracy in Israel

<p>Almost immediately after taking power in December, Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition in Isreal proposed a highly contentious overhaul of the Supreme Court.</p><p>The court has long been seen as a crucial check and lone backstop on the government, and the plan has divide ... Show More

Protests in Israel: The Right’s Further Consolidation of Power

<p>Despite months of widespread protests, Israel's right-wing government passed a law on Monday curbing the authority of the country's Supreme Court to block government decisions. This legislative action is just the beginning of a larger plan aimed at bolstering the nationalist I ... Show More

Israel’s Far Right Government Backs Down

<p>For months in Israel, the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing a highly contentious plan to fundamentally change the country’s Supreme Court, setting off some of the largest demonstrations in Israel’s history.</p><p>On Monday, Mr. Netanyah ... Show More

Israel's government moves to the far-right

Over the past month, Israelis have taken to the streets in massive demonstrations. They're opposed to Prime Minister Netanyahu's new plan to limit the power of the Supreme Court and worry about what that means for minority rights and Israeli democracy. Today, we will talk about t ... Show More

Political Analyst Dahlia Scheindlin

The majority of Israelis are in favor of early elections, according to Dahlia Scheindlin, a political analyst and pollster. As the government faces growing calls for change and international critics voice their concerns regarding Israeli leadership, the author of "The Crooked Tim ... Show More

Bibi’s gambit: Israel’s government v its judiciary

<p>Israel’s right-wing coalition government has the country’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/01/16/binyamin-netanyahu-rushes-to-take-on-israels-supreme-court?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=disco ... Show More

Simcha Rothman: Is Israel plunging into chaos?

Stephen Sackur speaks to Israeli politician Simcha Rothman, a key architect of the Netanyahu government’s controversial legal reforms aimed at radically overhauling the country’s judicial system. Critics say the plans threaten Israel’s democracy. This, alongside the rising violen ... Show More

Led by Bibi, Led by Humza & Led By Donkeys

More mass protests in the streets- this time in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the rest of Israel.Millions of Israelis believe their democracy to be in jeopardy. The airport is blocked, universities out of action, a general strike has been called. Even the diplomats won’t go to work. Wi ... Show More

Supreme Court changes ‘tear the fabric’ of Israel

Despite months of mass protests, Israel’s far-right government pushed through a law weakening the country’s Supreme Court on Monday. Under it, the Court is no longer able to strike down some government decisions. Fears over the effect this and other planned changes could have on ... Show More

Bibi’s gambit: Israel’s government v its judiciary

<p>Israel’s right-wing coalition government has the country’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/01/16/binyamin-netanyahu-rushes-to-take-on-israels-supreme-court?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=disco ... Show More

Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami